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For tractor and other farm machinery purchases, “there was a huge windfall in the 2013 tax legislation,” says Roger McEowen, director of Iowa State University’s Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation.
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At a recent media event in Johnston, Iowa, DuPont Pioneer announced that it is doubling the number of Optimum AQUAmax drought-tolerant corn hybrids from 22 in 2012 to 44 in 2013. With the U.S. Drought monitor continuing to show drought as a major problem well into this month, more and more growers are asking about drought-tolerant hybrids, says Reed Mayberry, senior marketing manager, DuPont Pioneer. ...More

Growers evaluating alfalfa seed options for spring 2013 will also have new choices for on-seed protection with the introduction of CruiserMaxx Alfalfa, a seed treatment insecticide/fungicide combination of separately registered products from Syngenta. CruiserMaxx Alfalfa will be available initially on select varieties of Nexgrow brand alfalfa....More

The U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) announced that Chris Chinn (Mo.), Will Gilmer (Ala.), Katie Pratt (Ill.), and Bo Stone (N.C.), have been selected as the winners of its Faces of Farming & Ranching program, a nationwide search launched in summer 2012 to help put real faces on the American agriculture industry. More than 100 applications were submitted from passionate, dedicated farmers and ranchers across the country....More

Economic uncertainty had some non-operating farmland owners rushing to sell, which was evident in the last three months of the year, according to Farmers National Company, the largest farmland and ranchland real estate company in the country.
Overall for 2012, Farmers National reports that sales activity was up 40% over 2011.
"We anticipated another record year in 2012, but what we've seen has exceeded our expectations," said Derrick Volchoff, ALC, vice president of real estate operations at Farmers National....More

The USDA collects a large amount of information directly from farmers and ranchers across the United States. Farmers and ranchers own the majority of the land dedicated to the production of agricultural products, yet a significant portion of our nation's farmland is rented or leased from non-operating landlords. In 2010, the USDA collected detailed information on land tenure, ownership patterns, and rental agreements through supplemental questions in the Agricultural Resource Management Survey....More

Cropland rental rates continue to vary widely throughout Minnesota (and other Midwestern states). Landowners and tenants alike are challenged when trying to calculate a fair and equitable land rent value. The North Central Farm Management Extension Committee has recently developed a series of land rent publications and forms that will aid landowners and tenants with determining a land rent value....More

New Year's resolutions aren't just for those who are overweight, sedentary or struggling to break a bad habit. Farmers can resolve to avoid poor management practices or implement better production techniques in 2013.
Purdue University crop, livestock and agricultural economics specialists shared their top three farmer resolutions for the year ahead. Those resolutions, and specialist comments about them, are:
Chris Hurt, extension agricultural economist...More

A return to more normal U.S. corn yields in 2013 could send new-crop prices spiraling downward, but persistent drought in some of the nation's top corn-producing states could have the opposite effect, says Purdue Extension agricultural economist Chris Hurt.
The USDA predicts the midpoint of U.S. farm prices on 2012 corn will be $7.60 per bu. If yields are more normal in 2013, Hurt said prices could fall by $2.10 to $5.50 per bu. - the largest ever year-to-year drop....More

Loveland Products recently announced a new active ingredient registration, resulting in the release of a new seed treatment named Consensus.
“The EPA registration of salicylic acid for seed treatment use was our goal for a number of years,” stated Marty Robinson, seed treatment market manager at Loveland Products. “The registration was recently approved, allowing us to move forward with this innovative product.”...More

2012 has been a remarkable year for farmland values. Even a record-setting drought hasn’t dampened the market. And as this year draws to a close, the number of land sales has increased along with the prices paid for the land....More

Corn prices peaked in August, moved sharply lower in September, and have been in a sideways pattern over the past two months. Within that sideways pattern, prices have moved higher over the past two weeks, with March 2013 futures trading within $0.10 of the post-September high. The recent rally has been fueled by some supply concerns and more optimism about near-term demand....More

Seed polymers are a bit like force fields: You cannot always see them, but they are there to protect. For instance, Polymers are helping to protect the growing number of active ingredients and biologicals (applied in the form of seed treatments) from dusting off. This not only protects the corn or soybean grower’s investment, but also reduces the seed applicator’s or grower’s exposure to various compounds, say manufacturers of polymers and other seed enhancements....More

They’re not making any more farmland, right? Wrong.
“Don’t believe that myth,” advises Mike Boehlje, an agricultural economist at Purdue University.
The Corn Belt hasn’t expanded as if by magic. But the red-hot commodity prices of recent years have stimulated a dramatic increase in new land coming into production around the globe, Boehlje says. In addition, productivity of existing farmland continues to climb as high prices justify more intense management....More

Despite widespread drought that slammed Corn Belt yields in 2012, farmland prices continue their upward trajectory, though increases in recent months appear to have backed off from the 20-percent-plus annual gains of recent years.
Midyear farmland price data from the Chicago and Kansas City Federal Reserve banks, as well as surveys by Illinois and Iowa farm manager and Realtor groups, show farmland price increases of 5 to 10% in the first half of the year, substantially below the pace of recent years....More

Even with farmland selling at record highs throughout much of the nation, land remains a sound value and will likely continue to go up in price over the long term, farmland expert Murray Wise told a conference sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Tuesday....More

The US Supreme Court receives approximately 10,000 petitions per year asking it to review a particular dispute--called a petition for a writ of certiorari or petition for "cert." As the Court cannot possibly hold an oral argument and decide each requested case, it usually selects the most critical 75-80 cases per year, with the term starting in October and running through the following summer....More

As seed companies continue to deliver new genetics and trait packages in their seed products, producers can expect to pay a bit more in 2013. While individual pricing packages vary depending on the product mix, industry sources indicate seed will be 5% to 10% higher....More

Generally, farms with more of their acres cash rented at higher cash rent levels will face more downside income risk compared to farms with fewer acres cash rented at lower cash rent levels. As a result, farms with high cash rent levels could face large losses in some future year. This is illustrated by projecting 2013 incomes for farms with different rental situations.
Farm situation...More